Bottle holder



June 28, 1966 N. A. MQZLE'Y m 3,258,235

BOTTLE HOLDER Original Filed Aug. 22, 1963 y INVENTOR. v /3 /Vorman Moz/gy@ 5 BY maap A TTORNE YS United States Patent O 3,258,235 BOTTLE HOLDER Norman A. Mozley IH, 8933 Aztec Road NE., Albuquerque, N. Mex. Continuation of application Ser. No. 303,796, Aug. 22, 1963. This application Mar. 2, 1965, Ser. No. 438,823 9 Claims. (Cl. 248-106) The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Serial No. 303,796, led August 22, 1963, and now abandoned.

The present invention relates to a bottle holder, and more particularly to an adjustable nursing bottle holder having several degrees of freedom of adjustment and being adjustable not only as regards the elevation of a nipple on the bottle and as regards the slope of same downwardly toward the nipple, but also as regards differences in the contour and yieldability of the various underlying surfaces upon which it may be used.

Of the prior known bottle holders for infants, some have had no adjustment capability. Others have had an imprecise and inadequate degree of adjustability or have lacked inherent stability. Inasmuch as bed clothing, pillows, and the like have different degrees of yieldability and also have `different angles of repose, the limited adjustment capability of present bottle holders must be supplemented by use of additional props or by reshaping the underlying surface. This is done at the beginning of nursing or feeding; however, in many instances, due to the instability of the makeshift arrangement, to movements of the infant, and to emptying of the contents of the bottle, the bottle does not remain in the same position, or even in the same location, and constant attention is required to insure that the baby does not lose the bottle and that the baby feeds properly and promptly.

The present invention is ldirected to a universally adjustable bottle holder device that can be adjusted in several degrees of freedom. The device described provides concentration of the force of the bottle and its contents `due to gravity at three points which are widely spaced apart to provide stability, which are of small cross section to resist lateral movement by indenting the underlying surface, and which can be raised and lowered to provide accommodation to uneven surfaces and to provide suitable adjustment for use. Accordingly, the points can be rested upon bed clothing, upholstery, or the like, the nipple can be placed in a proper position for the infant, the bottle can be tilted properly, and substantially this position will be maintained throughout the entire nursing process during which the contents will be emptied by the infant. In is a feature of this invention that the bottle remain in substantially an identical tilted position whereby the nipple is supplied with formula or other liquid at substantially all times until the bottle is drained. In addition, the bottle used with the present device can be secured in several ways. Tests have shown that the proper use of the device increases the amount of formula taken during a feeding, decreases the time taken for feeding, and decreases the likelihood of stomach upset or regurgitation. Tests have shown, further, that very young infants can use the device unattended and that they are able to do so on the iirst attempt without prior conditioning to it.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bottle holder which is adjustable, usable under a wide range of circumstances, and resistant to sliding, rocking, upset, or separation from the bottle.

It is a further object of the invention in keeping with the preceding object to provide several degrees of adjustment both to height of the nipple of the bottle above a surface as well as its angle of inclination to supply liquid at all times to the nipple.

3,258,235 Patented June 28, 1,966

ICC

It is a further object of the invention to provide a plastic support that is fabricated in a single step by a pressure mold process for supporting a nursing bottle or the like. t

It is a further object in keeping with the invention to provide a structure as called for in the first object wherein adjustment means are provided which are quickly and simply applicable and adjustable in several degrees of adjustment.

It is a further object in keeping with the next preceding object to provide flexible adjusting means at spaced apart support points` on a frame which supports a nursing bottle, or the like.

Further objects and advantages of the invention reside in details of construction and the arrangement of components of the device and will either be obvious or pointed out `in the following specification and claims considered in view of the accompanying drawings which show a preferred embodiment of the invention and in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the invention showing a nursing bottle retained thereon;

FIG. 2 is an end view looking toward the right at FIG. 1 and showing the nursing bottle tilted in one adjusted position;

FIG. 3 is a side view taken substantially in the plane of the bottom of the bottle on line 3 3 of FIG. l;

FIG. 4 is a view showing a support area of a bottle support with a frictional adjustment peg associated therewith, and

FIG. 5 is a modification of a positive friction adjustment device associated with a support area of the invention.

Referring more in detail to the drawing and first to FIG. 1, a bottle holder 10 comprises a V-shaped base formed by two sides 11 and 12 which join at an apex 14, which apex is apertured by a hole 15 to receive an adjustable support leg, such as a screw 16. The sides 11 and 12 are arranged with relationship to each other at a suitable angle to provide spaced apart distal ends 18 and 19, each of which is similarly apertured to receive adjustable support legs 20 and 21 respectively.

Bottle-retaining shoulders are provided by a pair of essentially parallel support rails 23 and 24 which are joined and preferable formed integrally with the sides 11 and 12 at points 25 and 26 on the rail 23 and at points 28 and 29 on the rail 24. The rails 23 and 24 have suitably inturned ends 30 and 31, respectively, which `co-operate to frictionally receive a shouldered neck 33 of a conventional nursing bottle 35 shown as hexagonal. A round bottle 35a, or other shapes, can be conveniently accommodated by the device. Points of contact 37 ofthe bottle 35 engage shoulders `on `the rails 23 and 24, respectively, to frictionally engage the bottle, and as pointed out above, these rails turn inwardly at ends 30 and 31 to co-operate with the shoulder 33 of the bottle 35.

The inner surfaces of shoulder-forming rails 23 and 24, FIG. 3, contacted by the bottle at points or areas 37, can Ibe tapered (not shown) to provide larger areas of engagement by the lower sides of the bottle 35. Such taper will also facilitate molding of the ibottle holder 10 by providing draft angle in the mold. It is to be understood that `other parts of the base 10 can also be tapered at suitable angles (not shown) to provide proper draft for 4readily freeing same from molding dies.

A suitable elastic band 38 surrounds the ends of rails 23 and 24 and the nursing bottle 35. The band 38 or other bands 38a and 38b, etc., can be trained around `other points of the device, as desired to provide support for the bottle 35. Long bands, not shown, can pass from the poi-nts 38e` andv 38d, for example; and double looped bands can pass between rail 24 and .sides 11 and 12, for additional support. It is la feature of this device th'at the above kand many other methods of fastening the bottle 4can `be utilized.

The'nursing ibottle 35 is supplied with a suitable nipple 40 which is secured in conventional manner, shown in the drawing by a shoulder ring 41 that tits on suitable threads over the neck of the bottle. However, bottles having nipples shaped and/or Vattached differently can also Ibe used. The bottle further has a center of gravity 42 when empty that is shown in spaced relationship with the sides 11 and 12 and thereabove as indicated in FIG. 2. The contents of the bottle 35 at an elevation .substantially as indicated by line 45 will have a center of gravity of the contents of the bottle substantially at a point 46. Accordingly, the resultant center of gravity of the bottle and its contents will lie substantially between the points 42 and 46 at a point 48 which may vary according to the contents of the bottle. I-t is to be noted, however,'that when the bottle is full of formula or the like the center of gravity of both the bottle and the contents will lie substantially at the point 42. As the contents in the bottle are lowered to the point 45, the resultant would llie at approximately the point 48. However, as the contents 'of the bottle are still lowered beyond the line 45 to the line 45a the center of gravity will not necessarily move any further toward the right as viewed in FIG. 2, because the relationship of mass of the contents and of the bottle will become such that the center of gravity of the two will move back toward the point 42.

In addition to these centers of gravity, it is to be noted that the lstructure also has a center of gravity which will' lie substantially at a point 50 which is below and to the left of the points 42, 46, and 48, as viewed in FIG. 2. As

viewed in FIG. 1, such center of gravity is preferably substantially in registry vertically with the center of gravity 42. Accordingly, an overall net center of gravity of Iall of the components, including the contents of the bottle, will at all times :lie in an area substantially as indicated by a dotted line area 52.

It is to be noted that the center of gravity in the area 52 is located well within the triangular support points provided by the ends 54, 55, and 56 of the adjustment screws 16, v18, and 19, respectively. Accordingly, even though the nipple be tilted clockwise more than indicated in FIG. 2, the net center of gravity 52'wi11 lie substantially to the left of the point 56 which lis in engagement` `with the bed clothing surface 65 supporting the bottle holder and bo-ttle thereon. It is also to be noted that each leg, hav-ing a small cross section, tends to depress itself to some degree into any yieldable surface, thus providing a high degree of resistance to transversely-applied forces. This feature avoids the susceptibility to sliding that exists when a yieldable surface conforms to a at base, `and it avoids the tendency to rock that exists when the base is a stuffed object or a four-legged structul'ed There are two primary methods of tilting the angle of the nipple 40, namely, turning the adjustment screw 21 by means of a knurled knob 60 to raise the end 56 to rotate the nipple clockwise; or rotate the knurled knob 60 in the opposite direction to rotate the nipple 40 countercl-ockwise. A knurled knob 62 of the adjustment vscrew 20 l can be rotated in one direction or the other alsoto rotate the nipple clockwise and counter-clockwise. The two knurled knobs 60 and 62 can be rotated conjointly to change the elevation of the nipple and, if rotated to the same degree, or the same number of turns, will maintain a constant angle. It is to be noted that at this angle the liquid surface 45a is still within the nipple 40, although the bottle 35 is substantially empty.

" There is also a secondary method of tilting the angle of the nipple 40 provided by the adjustment screw 16. The degree that the langle is changed, however, is Arelatively slight because the positioning of screw 16 will ro- Itate the bottle 35 .about points 55 and 56. Accordingly, the adjustment of screw 16 adjusts the'elevation of the nipple 40 of the bottle 35 more than the angle of tilting of same. It is to be understood that the relative positions of the screws 16, 20 and 21 could be different than those l shown in the specific embodiment disclosed within the teaching of the Iinvention as lby moving same closer or farther away fromv the position of the rails 23 and 24 to modify the adjustment function of each adjustment device. Further, some or `all of the support legs coul-d pass through the base at an angle o-f approximately twenty degreesso as to be substantially vertical as viewed in FIG. 2. In any event, the position of the bottle both in angle and elevation with relationship to a support surface 65 can be controlled closely and over a wide range with the device shown and described.

In order to move the net center of gravity 52 still more rearwardly than indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the screw 20 can be made of metal. The Ascrews 16 and 21 may be of plastic or metal and/or can be sized differently than illustrated as desired for center of gravity purposes. However, for practical purposes, it is preferable at this time to provide members lof plastic so that the body comprising sides 11 )and 12 and rails 23 and 24 can be molded in a single operation in a plastic molding device. When such is fdone, itis preferred that notches 70 be provided at positions of adjustment legs and have extending openings 71 to the outer edge surfaces of the supports. If metal screws are used, the same can .define their own threads in the plastic upon assembly of the complete structure. When plastic screws are used, the ends 19 and 20 and the V connection 14 can be tapped. The pressure of the tapping tool outwardly from the hole 15 will permit yielding and opening of the spaces 71 as the tap passes therethrough whereby, upon removal of the tap, therepwill be Aan interference friction t for a screw placed therein. This will provide a predetermined amount of torque required to position the adjustable screws in the tapped holes.

The adjustable legs 16, 20, and 21 can be conveniently arranged to extend through holes 15 and 115, FIG; 5, in the base 10 at an `angle of about twenty degrees (not shown) from normal with respect to the fiat bottom of' the base 10. Such inclination will cause the legs 16, 20, and 21 to be substantially vertical as viewed in FIG. 2. This twenty degree angle approximates the preferred angle of inclination of the nursing bottle 35. At such angle, or at an `angle slightly greater or less, the contents of the bottle can be drained completely by an infant; and it is found that there will be a minimum of ingestion of ai-r by the infant. The holes 15 can be either molded or drilled at such twenty degree angle by known means in the manufacture of base 10.

Referring now to FIG. 4, `a friction t peg 75 is shown for extending into the hole 15 in the support area 19 of the bottle holder 10. The peg 75 is sufficiently oversized with respect to the hole 15 so that the same may be pressed therein by finger and thumb pressure and will maintain the position'of the bottle without slipping.

FIG. 5 shows a modified adjustment which is not as positionably exact as the adjustment described above, but which comprises an inexpensive modication of the invention. A typical support area 119 is relatively thinner than the support area 19 for ladjusting purposes; but has a substantially identical hole and expansion slot 170 therein. Hence the same die, having ller pieces, can mold this modification also. A post 120 has a series of transverse bosses 121 which are spaced apart between their facing surfaces a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the area 119. The post 120 is slipped down so that the bosses 121 pass through the slots 170 and 171 a sufficient adjustment distance and thereafter the post may be rotated, ninety degrees, for example, to lock same frictionally in the adjusted position.

The above described device is designed to provide the least practicable interferencecf parts with bedclothes, and the like, when an infant is fed while lying on its ri-ght side. This is not a limiting characteristic, however, because the device can be used with the infant on its left side; or, by turning its head, the infant can lie either on its back or on its front. However, it has been found that normal infants ingest less air if fed while lying on their right sides. It is therefore considered best that the infant be propped on its right side adjacent a corner of a crib, sofa, or the like, for feeding with the present invention.

While I have explained and shown details of construction of a preferred modification of the invention and two alternate adjustable supports associated therewith, it is obvious that modifications of the device will occur to others working in the art. Accordingly, I wish not to lbe limited in my invention only to the particular form shown and described but by the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An adjustable support for a nursing bottle comprising a generally flat base, a plurality of shoulders on said base for engaging spaced-apart points on the bottle for retaining same, a fastening device for urging the bottle into engagement with said shoulders, at least three spacedapart support areas of said base, at least one of said areas being opposite said shoulders from at least one other of said areas, a support leg located at each said support area and extending downwardly from said base, at least one of said support legs being frictionally positionable with relation to said base and to said other support legs by axial movement within a hole formed in said support area of said base, and each positionable support leg having a length of adjustment adequate for positioning the retained nursing bottle at the desired angle and height and, further, for compensating for the differences in contour and yieldability which are characteristic of the surfaces upon or adjacent to which infants may recline.

2. A support as set forth in claim 1, said support areas of said ybase being three in number and being positioned in a generally triangular relationship to each other, one of said areas being opposite said shoulders from the other two said areas. Y

3. A support as set forth in claim 2, at least two of said support legs being frictionally positionable.

4. A support 'as set forth in claim 3, said shoulders defining engaging points for the retained bottle such that said bottle lies generally parallel to the line defined by the centers of those two support areas lying on the same side of said shoulders.

5. A support as set forth in claim 4, said shoulders defining engaging points for the bottle lying nearer to the said two support areas located on the same side of said shoulders than to the said support area located on the opposite side,

6. A support as set forth in claim 3, one of said support areas being adjacent the neck of the retained nursing bottle, a second of said support areas being Vopposite the bottle from said one area, and a third of said support areas being adjacent the bottom of the bottle and arranged closer to said one area than to said second area.

7. A support as set forth in claim 1, said support legs having generally small-area surface engaging ends to provide frictional resistance to transverse forces acting upon the support when the same is reposing upon a yieldable underlying surface.

8. A support as set forth in claim 7, said support legs having generally small-area surface engaging ends to provide frictional resistance to transverse forces acting upon the support when the same is reposing upon a yieldable underlying surface. t 9. An adjustable support for a nursing bottle comprislng in combination a generally at base, a plurality of shoulders on said ybase for engaging spaced-apart points on said bottle for retaining same, means for urging said bottle into engagement with said shoulders, and three longitudinally adjustable support legs, one of them passing through a hole in the base at each of three support areas, said support areas so oriented that: two support areas lie in a line generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bottle, one of them toward the front of the device and near to the nipple of the bottle and the second toward the rear of the device and near to the base of the bottle, both being adjacent to the bottle with sufficient clearance of the bottle to allow manual adjustment of the legs and u pward protrusion of their ends; and the third, or outrigger, support area lies opposite the bottle from the first two and remote from the first two by substantially more than the distance between the first two.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 671,395 4/ 1901 Hayward 248-407 1,633,083 6/1927 Fite 248-105 1,886,619 11/ 1932 Arnone 248-105 2,909,346 10/1959 Jones 248-105 2,921,764 1/1960 Cairnes 248-163 3,122,386 2/1964 Pearson 287--93 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,055 1906 Great Britain.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner. K. I, WINGERT, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT FOR A NURSING BOTTLE COMPRISING A GENERALLY FLAT OF SHOULDERS ON SAID BASE FOR ENGAGING SPACED-APART POINTS ON THE BOTTLE FOR RETAINING SAME, A FASTENING DEVICE FOR URGING THE BOTTLE INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID SHOULDERS, AT LEAST THREE-SPACEDAPART SUPPORT AREAS OF SAID BASE, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID AREAS BEING OPPOSITE SAID SHOULDERS FROM AT LEAST ONE OTHER OF SAID AREAS, A SUPPORT LEG LOCATED AT EACH SAID SUPPORT AREA AND EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID BASE, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID SUPPORT LEGS BEING FRICTIONALLY POSITIONABLE WITH RELATION TO SAID BASE AND TO SAID OTHER SUPPORT LEGS BY AXIAL MOVEMENT WITHIN A HOLE FORMED IN SAID SUPPORT AREA OF SAID BASE, AND EACH POSITIONABLE SUPPORT LEG HAVING A LENGTH OF ADJUSTMENT ADEQUATE FOR POSITIONING THE RETAINED NURSING BOTTLE AT THE DESIRED ANGLE AND HEIGHT AND, FURTHER, FOR COMPENSATING FOR THE DIFFERENCES IN CONTOUR AND YIELDABILITY WHICH ARE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE SURFACES UPON OR ADJACENT TO WHICH INFANTS MAY RECLINE. 